In Spain, both branches of our congregation have been present so that nowadays, we have two Provinces.
The Congregation of Jesus has been present in Spain since 1939, when the sisters, coming from Germany, founded a house in Barcelona. The main ministry of the province is education. There are schools in Barcelona, Badalona and San Sebastian.
In the CJ schools a lot of importance is given to pastoral work, supporting Mary Ward groups, preparing children to receive the sacraments and conducting workshops for both parents and pupils.
Some sisters carry out pastoral and social work outside schools.
One of the sisters is the director of the children’s home in Alza where children from dysfunctional families are taken care of. Others work as volunteers in Caritas and other institutions caring for migrants and other socially displaced people.
In 2012, the house “Maria Ward Extea” was built in San Sebastian for the elderly and sick sisters.
For more info, you can visit their web.
The Central Province of the Congregation of Jesus – Spain was born from the canonical merger of the former Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary (IBVM) and the Congregatio Jesu at the international level. With this process, we, the former IBVM, became fully part of the CJ.
In Spain, both congregations, IBVM and CJ, coexisted, and the transition to a single body – Mary Ward’s deep desire – is being realised through two provinces of the Congregation of Jesus: the Northern Province and the Central Province, made up of the communities that belonged to the IBVM.
Our hallmarks remain intact:
